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Motors Power NASA’s Interactive Humanoid Tour Guide

Thursday, 01 August 2013

RoboThespian is a programmable, interactive humanoid
robot designed to communicate, interact, and entertain. First
developed in 2006 by Cornish company Engineered Arts,
RoboThespian stands 5'9", with a full range of upper-body
movement and human-like eyes. NASA will employ the robot’s
third generation as a figurehead — meeting and greeting over
1.5 million visitors per year at its futuristic Cape Canaveral base.

RoboThespian 3’s humanoid movements are powered by a
combination of compressed air “muscles” and maxon motors.
The A-max and neodymium magnet-powered RE-max motors
enable the robot’s hands, arms, and torso.

Currently, at least 78 brushed RE motors are in active duty
on the surface of Mars, powering functions on the Spirit and
Opportunity Mars rovers that have so far exceeded their anticipated
lifespan by almost seven years.

RoboThespian features an interactive touchscreen interface
designed for casual users, including visitors to an attraction or
guests in a company’s lobby. The robot includes a choice of Text-to-Speech engines, covering many
languages and dialects in male and
female voices. Other applications include
telepresence, movement tracking, and
voice interaction. RoboThespian can also
be customized with LED body lighting,
and facial animations are generated in
real time.

Engineered Arts has already started
work on a further 20 RoboThespians.
The company has now provided the latest
robot with object-tracking and speechrecognition
capabilities, enhancing its
ability to interact with NASA’s guests.

Question of the Week

This week's Question: A recent study created by the Arizona-based Paragon Space Development Corporation says its life support system could help humans survive on Mars. The proposed Environmental Control and Life Support System, the company says,...